Silent Symphony) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran.

It narrates the life of Divya (Revathi), a free-spirited college girl who is forced into an arranged marriage with Chandrakumar (Mohan) by her father (Sankaran) though she still lives with the memory of her deceased lover Manohar (Karthik).

Her father Chandramouli has arranged for her marriage and tells Divya to come home early from college to meet Chandrakumar, the prospective groom.

Uninterested in marriage, she deliberately arrives home late, hoping Chandrakumar will reject her, only to find him patiently waiting for her.

Divya initially refuses, but when her father has a heart attack, her mother begs her to accept the proposal to aid his recovery.

Some time later, Chandrakumar notices the anklets and realises that Divya does love him, but the next morning, neither expresses their wish for the trip to be cancelled aloud.

[16] Ratnam decided to cast Kanchana in the minor role of the lawyer since he believed "a certain amount of star quality helps" when the character has little screen time but is crucial to the plot.

[20] According to Ratnam, the only difference between Divya and Mouna Ragam was the inclusion of Karthik's character Manohar, which was not part of the earlier screenplay.

Ratnam realised that the story needed to satisfy a wider audience, and decided to give them something that would make them accept the character without questioning Divya's actions, then the film could depict the arranged marriage – two strangers suddenly thrown together – and how they adjust.

[24][25] The film's introductory credits feature photographs of Revathi from her childhood through her teenage years;[26] her mother gave Thota Tharani the pictures.

[42] Rakesh Mehar of The News Minute noted that one thing differentiating Mouna Ragam from Andha 7 Naatkal and similar films is that it remains focused on Divya.

[45] The connection to The Night of the Shooting Stars is referenced when a poster of it appears in a scene where Manohar and his anarchist friends plan an event.

[47] Divya's mischievous nature is shown in a scene where she teaches a Sardar offensive Tamil phrases, which he says to Chandrakumar's boss.

[24] Sujatha Narayanan, writing for The New Indian Express, described Chandrakumar as a "patient-understanding-and-poised-at-all-times" man, contrasting him with Manohar who she described as a "dashing, brave and epitome-of-the-word-'dude'".

[2] She noted that Divya, like the female leads in most of Ratnam's films, is "practical with strong convictions" and the characters "go through their confusions unapologetically".

[52] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu considered that Ratnam used rain in the film to accentuate the "childlike, free-spirited nature" of Divya.

The restaurant scene with Manohar and Divya includes awkwardly played sitar music, indicating the couple's emotions.

[52] The Hindu's Sruthi Radhakrishnan described "Panivizhum Iravu" as "one of those only-80s songs that served as a stand-in for sexual tension, where you'd have two people looking intensely at each other.

[56] Rangan believed Manohar to be the first character in a Tamil film to invite a girl for a "cup of coffee", a form of dating.

[60] Mouna Ragam was publicised with a shot of Revathi clinging to a lamp post and singing, which Ratnam confirmed as being inspired by "Singin' in the Rain".

[39][b] Mouna Ragam was released on 15 August 1986,[15][50] Despite opening to modest audiences, it picked up and became a box-office success,[64] running for over 175 days in theatres,[65] thereby becoming a silver jubilee film.

[70] Jayamanmadhan (a duo) of Kalki wrote that Karthik's presence completely overshadowed Mohan and Revathi while appreciating Sriram's cinematography.

The duo said it almost felt like Sreeram had a magic wand instead of camera and also called the screenplay consistent which moves seamlessly but found the story slightly lagging after the intermission and the song set in Agra as minus points.

[71] Kaviya Shetty of India Today wrote in 1994, "[Mouna Ragam] found the perfect formula of a strong storyline and great music, presented in a fresh visual style that caught the audience by surprise".

[87] Mouna Ragam's theme of a person moving to a new place where they do not know the local language was replicated in Ratnam's later films like Nayakan, Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995).

An excellent script by Ratnam himself, [cinematography by P. C. Sreeram] and a lilting score by [Ilaiyaraaja] made it a hit with both critics and moviegoers".

[90] Pavithra Srinivasan of the same website said, "It took a Mani Ratnam to move away from clichéd romantic dialogues and capture subtle nuances that add so much richness to the story, introduce proper, three dimensional characters that lived breathed and sorrowed like everyone else".

[84] Deccan Chronicle listed Karthik and Revathi on its "Top 10 Jodis" of Tamil cinema; they "made a fresh pair and were adored by the youth, especially the college students.

These include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999),[42] Vallamai Tharayo (2008),[93][94][95] Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008),[96] Tanu Weds Manu (2011),[97] Raja Rani (2013) where both the male and female leads have past lovers,[98][99][100] Bangalore Days (2014) where the man is unable to forget his past love and accept his wife,[101] and Maalai Naerathu Mayakkam (2016).

[104] Sri Divya called Revathi's character an influence on her role in Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu (2013).